Personalized Items and E-Commerce Statistics

There are all kinds of online retailers with a specialization on personalized items. PersonalCreations.com, PersonalizeYourItems.com, PersonalizationMall.com, RedEnvelope.com, CafePress.com, and Zazzle.com are some of the full service personalization online-only retailers that provide personalized gift solutions to millions of consumers.

Which are personalized items?

Any type of item can become a personalized gift, like mugs, rubber stamps, and picture frames, watches, personalized neon signs, pens, and wine glasses. People love to receive gifts with their name, special dates or special messages engraved on them. Trophies are another example an item that can be engraved with a personal message. So, as long as a classic gift can be turned into a special gift, it becomes a personalized item. Additionally, people who offer personalized gifts are able to show their creative side and add their special touch in the item, thus offering a gift that may last for a lifetime.

How to order personalized items

Online retailers for personalized items charge per letter or per line. However, the final charge is subject to the turnaround time, which the time required for the gift to be created and delivered to the end customer. The longer the turnaround time, the higher the charge. It is also subject to the material used to create the gift. The cheaper the material, the lower the final price.

Most online retailers have a return policy, which allows customers to return the item if they are not satisfied with it. However, before ordering the item, customers usually have the option to preview how it will looks like and they receive a proof, most likely by email. Therefore, most of the times, personalized items, including address labels, cannot be returned unless there is a flaw such as a misspelling or a damage from shipping. However, reputable online retailers provide their customers with solid deliveries.

E-Commerce statistics are quite impressive

U.S. e-commerce spending is expected to reach $262 billion in 2013, up by 13.4% from the $231 billion spent in 2012, Forrester Research reports. By 2017, e-commerce spending is expected to hit $370 billion, representing a compound annual growth rate of 10% from 2012 to 2017.

In 2017, U.S. e-commerce will be 10% of all U.S. retail sales, compared to the 8% of 2012 and 2013. As consumers become more experienced in online shopping, they tend to move from spending a small amount of money on books and CDS to spend higher amounts on buying furniture and appliances online. In doing so, web consumers are actually driving most of the annual spending growth.

U.S. e-commerce revenue for the period 2010-2012 was $167.3, $194.3 and $225.5 billion in 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively, representing an increase of 34.8%. The expected U.S. e-commerce revenue for the period 2013-2017 is $258.9, $296.7, $338.9, $384.9 and $434.2 billion in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively. The estimated increase in expected U.S. e-commerce revenue from 2013 to 2017 is 67.7%.

47% of consumers prefer online shopping during the holiday season, Accenture reports. 19.0% of them are using their tablets, whereas 18.0% of them are using their smartphones, yet the increase in the use of both tablets and smartphones is 15.0% compared to 2012. Additionally, 50.0% of consumers questioned in Accenture's survey responded that they prefer online-only retailers. The relevant percentage in 2012 was 44.0%.

According to Statista, the number of U.S. online consumers for the period 2010-2012 was 172.3 million, 178.3 million and 183.8 million in 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively, representing an increase of 6.7%. The expected number of U.S. online consumers for the period 2013-2017 is 189.4 million, 194.8 million, 200.1 million, 205.2 million and 210.2 million in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively. The estimated increase in the number of online shoppers from 2013 to 2017 is 10.9%.